Life in Dunedin

Chicks getting ready to fly

Nesting birds

We have spent quite a chilled week in Dunedin between matches.  Highlights have been seeing Royal Albatross chicks on the Otago peninsula which are about to fledge.  They will be at sea for five-six years before coming back to the same site to breed.  They even sleep at sea.  These guys weigh 12Kg and as an adult have a wing span of 3 metres.  We were treated to how far they can project their poo which was about a metre!!  Mac would have been proud!

Just by the colony we saw some fur seals and a superb colony of Stewart Island Shags nesting on the cliff.

Dunedin and all of the Southland area has a strong scottish link.  Many people have descended from settlers who arrived in the 1840's from Scotland.  There is even a statue of Robbie Burns in the main street.  People seem to have retained that pioneer spirit.  It reminds me very much of Canada where people often seem to have a similar psyche.  Life is about survival rather than status.  Many drive old cars, people don't appear to be too worried about a car defining them in life as in the UK. Refreshing. We went to a celtic folk club last week and saw an amazing performer: Anna Rugis who sings "Hebridean Mouth Music"  unaccompanied except for her clapping and slapping her hands on her legs.  Amazing.

Yesterday we went to the Catlins a wild and picturesque piece of coast.  Home to only about 4000 people.  We were lucky enough to see some yellow eyed penguins on a wild beach just in from fishing all day at sea.  These are endangered with only 4000 left and they only live in certain parts of NZ. Steve got a video of them - well he tried.